Saturday dawned and I found I could roughly move. Various locals started arriving, either entering in the rally or marshalling. I was given the top section of the course to look after where I’d run out of fuel the day before. One of the local TRF was to be my partner in crime.
We had a leisurely ride out to the special test, then short cut to our section. We did a sighting lap of that part not least so my partner had some idea where we were, then watched a load of bikes through the special test since that was our way back to the start of our section and the checkpoint there. We headed back there to find nobody has entered it yet and managed to push our way through the crowds to the front. The spot has a lovely view over the reservoir.
After a good few bikes had set off, we started a check through and stopped to take some photos of some friends. After that we came across
a breakdown, a 690 that wouldn’t run. We spent a while pooling tools trying to diagnose the problem. It had a spark so it had to be fuel related. We left to go and find a tow rope. We swept through our section, then went back to the special test and fuel point to refill and find a tow rope. On the way back to our section we passed some other breakdowns but there wasn’t anything we could do to help and they were in a good place for recovery.
Whilst my two stroke wasn’t up to towing, my partner’s four stroke was and we were able to get him out the forest using some creative use of shortcuts and into a position he could get recovered from. Greg did well particularly given he’d never tried this before.
After Greg refueled at Kielder and I’d eaten my sandwiches, we went back around our section, stopping for photos and so on, hovering near the end so we’d hear of any other breakdowns or problems. When it was clear things were winding down we headed back to the test/fuel area and found the course was closed. All that was left was for us to head back to base which we did without incident. Our section was clear as far as we knew and would get checked by the closing team anyway.
I have to say I was pretty tired at this point. I decided that rather than camping, I’d head home for a shower and so on in comfort and I wanted a better look at my leg. I arrived home without incident, had a shower and re-bandaged the leg and then started to feel extremely unwell. As far as I can tell I was losing my ability to regulate body temperature and was very shaky and shivering with a fast pulse. I tried various quick food/drink options and it wasn’t helping, if anything I was getting worse, extremely cold and shivery. An idea struck me and I tried a can of coke which thankfully hit the spot and pulled me out of it within 10 minutes.
This is very similar to what happened to me a couple of years ago. In that case I ended up near enough unconscious for 18 hours so this was an improvement on last time. I’m now pretty sure these were both cases of hypoglycaemia. Readers are probably thinking diabetes come to mind or a thyroid problem etc. For the record, I’ve had a ton of tests and its not any of the “usual” suspects. It does seem to be exercise induced, delayed effect and some kind of metabolic muscle issue is prime suspect. I have my theories and investigation is still ongoing.
So I opted to stay at home for a good night’s sleep and to see how I was in the morning. Any sensible person would perhaps of opted to rest the next day however I believe I’m actually starting to understand what was going on with energy levels and all my instincts told me I would be fine to ride.